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Private Investigator in Divorce Proceedings: Evidence Is Power
Hiring a private investigator can help protect the rights of both spouses. However, it can play a crucial role in gaining an advantage over one spouse, by gathering and locating evidence. To ensure the investigation’s success, hiring a professional and experienced investigator is crucial. Of course, hiring an investigator is advisable only after consultation with a lawyer.
Gathering Evidence
The outcome of the legal process will significantly impact the lives of both spouses in all aspects, both personal and financial. Therefore, each party has a clear interest in acting to protect their rights in the best possible way. To do this, it is necessary to collect evidence that supports the spouse’s claims and strengthens their divorce case.
How can this be done? Well, the client will be able to obtain some of the documents with the lawyer’s guidance, for example, salary slips and bank account statements, certificates from the Land Registry regarding real estate assets, and more. In addition, some of the evidence will come as a result of hiring a private investigator. The need to hire a private investigator in divorce cases arises in various situations, including when there is a suspicion of concealment or embezzlement of assets by the spouse and in case of infidelity.
Concealment or Embezzlement of Assets
In a situation where one spouse is self-employed and does part of his business under the table, the other spouse who’s aware of this can hire an investigator to conduct a financial private investigator and gather evidence of the spouse’s real financial situation. This is done because the self-employed spouse does not report all his income to legal authorities, thus the authorities do not have a real image of his financial situation. This can affect the court’s decision regarding child support so it’s vital to undergo an investigation that will help determine the real situation.
In cases where there is a suspicion that one spouse is embezzling assets abroad, a financial investigation is also required. A spouse can be tempted to embezzle their assets abroad so they are not included in the equalization of resources between the parties. If there is a suspicion, a lawyer can apply for an injunction, a restraining order, and/or an exit order to prevent this process.
Infidelity
Another situation in which the need arises to hire a private investigator in divorce proceedings is when there is a suspicion of infidelity. In addition to the emotional need to know if there is a romantic relationship outside of marriage, this discovery can also have significant financial implications. For example, a woman who has cheated on her husband is not entitled to alimony according to Jewish law. The law states that she will be declared a rebellious woman and will lose her entitlement to this payment. A private investigator can provide the spouse with evidence of the infidelity, which they will present to the Rabbinical Court and thus avoid this financial obligation. The emotional turmoil sometimes leads the betrayed spouse to try to prove the act of infidelity themselves. However, without receiving guidance and instructions, they may break the law, so even if they achieve their goal, the evidence will not be admissible and cannot be used in the divorce proceedings.
The Importance of Legal Counsel
A private investigator can greatly assist in building a divorce case. However, the spouse mustn’t do so independently, but rather within the framework of the lawyer’s legal advice. First, not every divorce case requires the use of a private investigator, and sometimes it is possible to save the client these costs. Second, for the evidence obtained in the investigation to be admissible and effective for the case, he must act according to the law and in cooperation with the lawyer. Third, naturally, family law lawyers work regularly with a range of professionals, including private investigators whose work they are familiar with and know that it is reliable and trustworthy. For these reasons, it is important that hiring a private investigator be done together with the lawyer and not independently, without their involvement.
